It is time to apply a critical perspective on societal structures that form prerequisites for health and well-being

My Blomberg
Dept. of Sport Sciences, Malmö University

The health and well-being of populations is one of today’s biggest societal challenges and is therefore a priority in public health research and practice. In Western societies, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, sleep deprivation, screen time, and excessive consumption of processed food are common issues in contemporary discussions regarding health and well-being. At the same time as an “unhealthy” lifestyle has become easier to adopt, health inequalities are increasing, meaning that individuals across different social groups have unequal access to health-promoting factors. For example, due to high costs, a ski vacation has become a class issue in Sweden, and it becomes increasingly evident in the US that long working hours reduce available leisure time, contributing to systematic health disparities between socio-economic groups. Perhaps it is time to apply a critical perspective on our societal structures that form prerequisites for health and well-being.

Nevertheless, the concept of health and well-being is complex and entails several dimensions and perspectives. Moreover, health and well-being are often used synonymously, but do not necessarily mean the same thing. A common definition of health is that of the World Health Organization, which describes health as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 2025). The definition captures several dimensions of health (physical, mental, and social) and incorporates both the salutogenic and pathogenic perspectives by clarifying that health is not solely about “the absence of disease or infirmity”. Well-being is also included in the definition, indicating that health is part of a state of well-being. Furthermore, the definition emphasises that health is a resource in everyday life, and not a goal in itself: “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition” (WHO, 2025).

Through descriptions of complex situations, the book gives different perspectives on leisure and who has power over it. For example, it considers women in prison and their access to leisure time, as well as homeless people and their opportunities for leisure activities.

Based on this broad definition of health and well-being, the book Exploring the Leisure–health Nexus: Pushing Global Boundaries offers a novel and critical perspective on the prerequisites for promoting physical, mental, and social health as part of individual well-being. Here, health and well-being are placed in the context of leisure, in the “health-leisure nexus”, symbolising the point of connection between leisure and health. The health-leisure nexus addresses how leisure activities promote physical, mental and social health, and are shaped by health-related motivations, meaning that individuals choose leisure activities to promote their well-being. The central idea is that leisure functions as an arena that promotes well-being through meaningful activities, such as physical activities, recreational arts, and engaging with pets, which are examples of activities discussed and evaluated in the book in relation to physical, mental, and social health.

However, it is well established in health-promoting research and practice that leisure is important for health and well-being, and the book is not novel in that respect. Instead, in a forward-thinking way, it raises the critical question of individuals’ access to, and valuation of, leisure and, thus, to this health-promoting arena. Through descriptions of complex situations, the book gives different perspectives on leisure and who has power over it. For example, it considers women in prison and their access to leisure time, as well as homeless people and their opportunities for leisure activities. It also asks what happens upon retirement, when leisure time becomes everyday life. Is leisure time still meaningful and health-promoting then? Through these discussions, power relations and societal structures that determine our leisure also become evident. The book raises questions about who decides individuals’ leisure time, how unequal access to leisure is managed by society and whether leisure has become part of society’s responsibility for promoting health.

The editors of the book, Janette Young, Richard McGrath (University of South Australia), Nicole Peel (Western Sydney University), and Hazel Maxwell (University of Tasmania), are all active leisure academics based in health and training-focused arenas. Despite their long experience of exploring and working with the health-leisure nexus, their work on this book gave them some new insights due to the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic at this time.

What was regarded as “leisure time” and “leisure activities” were to some extent changed during the pandemic due to restrictions requiring people to remain at home. Activities such as art and engagement with pets increased and became more evident as important for well-being and quality of life, and thus health. An insight by the editors of the book was the importance of listening to individuals across different social groups with lived experience, to understand what “leisure” and “health” are. This inspired the editors to explore new ways of linking leisure and health. This, in turn, created novel and creative approaches through which leisure and health across different individuals and communities can be understood and promoted. Moreover, the realisation that progress still needs to be made in leisure–health understanding and practice inspired the editors to write a book with a call-to-action approach, which this book really is.

The book is divided into two parts, which together consist of 13 chapters in a logical structure, moving from the meaning of leisure and health and the prerequisites of different groups and individuals, to new ways of exploring, understanding and working with the leisure–health nexus. By taking the reader through lived experiences and conducted studies on the leisure and health of First Nation people, incarcerated people, migrant women, people with disabilities, older people, and human-animal interaction, the reader is provided with a deep understanding of how leisure is meaningful and health-promoting in many more ways than one might think. In addition, the book succeeds in providing definitions and explanations of the concepts of “health” and “leisure”. Even if this could have been done with even more nuances, it provides the readier with an important and general starting point for the concepts. Taken together, leisure, health, and the environment is interconnected, and the book encourages readers to recognize these complexities and consider both individual and societal responsibilities when addressing leisure and its broader implications for health.

Besides providing new ways of understanding and valuing leisure, the book’s most valuable contribution may be its problematisation of leisure. First, it provides the critical realisation that individuals do not fully control their own leisure time. Rather, access to leisure, and the opportunity to engage in meaningful and health-promoting activities, whether supporting physical or mental well-being or enhancing overall quality of life, is often structured and determined by others. Secondly, the book addresses the contemporary environmental problem, as leisure activities have become an increasing issue for the environment. Examples include the water needed for golf courses, travel to destinations for hiking and skiing, and the environmental impact of the production of equipment. This aspect of the book is important for its practical implications for health-promoting work. Consistent with this, the book gives the reader real case examples, models, and frameworks that can provide health professionals with ways to use leisure as a tool in their health-promoting work.

Overall, Exploring the Leisure–health Nexus makes an original contribution to the leisure–health field by addressing contemporary challenges, going beyond individualism, and incorporating a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the leisure–health nexus with a diverse population focus. If I were to address one weakness of the book, it is that I miss the global context it claims to address. The book’s discussions concern mostly Western societies, even if decolonial perspectives and migrant population are included to some extent. However, as a researcher adopting participatory action research, involving population groups in knowledge production, I am glad the book emphasises the importance of listening to individuals and their lived experiences to understand how and why leisure is meaningful for health and well-being. This is not only important in relation to my personal wishes but is also in line with contemporary health-promoting research and practise.

As a public health researcher and practitioner, I am also glad that the book employs an interdisciplinary perspective on health, as well as adopts socio-ecological models to analyse and explain how leisure and health are affected by society and power structures. I find the book particularly relevant for researchers and practitioners in the leisure–health nexus sector, such as tourism, sport, recreation, and public health, who seek to challenge current modes of thinking and working with leisure to promote health and well-being. The book can also be valuable for undergraduate students to develop critical thinking and understand sociological frameworks in health-promoting work and can thus be used as a teaching aid.

Copyright © My Blomberg 2026

References

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Constitution of the World Health Organization. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution